They served their time and are promised the vote — now what?

Gary White @garywhite13

Saturday

Dec 15, 2018 at 7:08 PMDec 16, 2018 at 8:34 AM

An estimated 1.4 million Floridians will become newly eligible to vote next month following the passage of a constitutional amendment dedicated to restoring the rights of convicted felons. But, will it happen?

LAKELAND — Gail Abodunrin completed her last prison sentence more than a decade ago.

By her account, she has made every effort since then to assimilate back into law-abiding society. Having completed an addiction recovery program, she has determinedly pursued employment, even though many companies refuse to consider hiring anyone with a felony record.

Abodunrin said she has volunteered for Lighthouse Ministries and other organizations, and she is raising two girls and a young woman not related to her.

In one way, though, Abodunrin remains estranged from the general population. She is ineligible to vote in elections for any position ranging from city commissioner to president.

“It's painful when you can't have a voice,” said Abodunrin, 60, a Lakeland resident. “It's painful when you can't vote and choose who's going to be over my kids. I have kids. At that time (when they were young), I couldn't vote and say who I wanted on the school board.”

Abodunrin is among an estimated 1.4 million Floridians who will become newly eligible to vote next month following the passage in November of a constitutional amendment dedicated to restoring the rights of convicted felons. Amendment 4 drew approval from 64.6 percent of voters, surpassing the 60-percent threshold required for such measures.

Even as Abodunrin and others celebrate passage of the amendment, some supporters worry that the Florida Legislature might try to undercut the measure when it convenes next March. Political observers say the majority of newly eligible voters will probably lean Democrat, while Republicans control the Legislature.

Bob Doyel, a Democrat from Winter Haven, said he and other local residents hope to help get as many ex-felons as possible registered before the session begins. Doyel, a former judge who lost a challenge last month against state Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican, pointed to the Legislature's handling of previous constitutional amendments.

“My concern was that the Legislature would do to Amendment 4 what they've done to the medical marijuana amendment and the environmental land purchases amendment, which was called Amendment 1, and the school class-size amendment,” he said. “They have a long history of thwarting the will of the people, and I figure that's what is going to happen.”

Florida's record

The summary of Amendment 4 that appeared on ballots seems straightforward: “This amendment restores the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation.”

A second sentence says those convicted of murder or sexual offenses would not receive automatic restoration of their voting rights, though they can appeal for clemency to the governor and the state cabinet. That is currently the only option for Floridians with a felony record.

The ballot language says the measure takes effect Jan. 8.

But Governor-elect Ron DeSantis said in an interview published Thursday that he wants to wait for the Legislature to pass a bill with “implementing language” in the session that starts March 5.

The ACLU, which campaigned for Amendment 4, provided the most commonly used estimate of 1.4 million Floridians affected by the measure. A professor at New York University said the newly eligible group exceeds the populations of 10 states, including Maine and Wyoming. PolitiFact Florida rated that claim “mostly true.”

Florida has long been considered one of the most restrictive states in the country in restoring the rights of felons. All but 10 automatically renew voting eligibility after a felon has completed a prison sentence and any related parole or probation, according to ProCon.org. (Two states, Maine and Vermont, even allow felons to vote while in prison.)

A report from the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit that advocates for reduced incarceration, found that more than 10 percent of Florida's voting-age population was disenfranchised in 2016 because of felony records. That was the highest rate of any state.

One organization, Floridians for a Fair Democracy, led the effort to gather enough petitions to place Amendment 4 on the ballot and the subsequent campaign for its passage. The political group, headed by Orlando resident Desmond Meade, who rose from homelessness to earn a law degree, spent $21.5 million on the campaign.

Locally, Rev. Eddie Lake of New Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lakeland directed his energies toward seeing Amendment 4 succeed. Lake said the AME denomination supported the proposal from its inception, and his church collected at least 7,000 signed petitions, the highest total in the state.

Lake, who said he has relatives with felony records, considers it an issue of basic fairness.

“One individual, unemployed person's vote is just as important as a millionaire's vote, so that's the only equal weapon we have as citizens to really make a statement without being politicians, understanding that government does impact all facets of our existence on a daily basis,” Lake said. “What has happened in our country and society is we have actually made convicted felons a second-class citizenship. … So I think it's important because we want to give people a chance. Even though they've messed up, they've paid their debts to society. They should be restored back into society.”

Susan MacManus, a distinguished professor at the University of South Florida, said Amendment 4 attracted more financial backing than any other amendment and faced no strong and organized opposition. It drew support not only from such liberal-leaning groups as the ACLU and Progress Florida but also from the Christian Coalition of America, Florida Tax Watch, the Libertarian Party of Florida and the Koch Brothers-aligned Freedom Partners.

“The Florida business community came out in favor of it because they saw the economic benefit to the state of having people more integrated into their communities,” MacManus said.

Wooing new voters

Minorities make up a disproportional share of Florida's felons, and minorities — particularly blacks — are more likely to register as and vote for Democrats. But MacManus said the political effects of the amendment aren't entirely clear.

“First of all, it is true that some will choose not to register and so you don't know what the proportion is,” she said. “It's a misassumption to think everyone is going to register and everyone is going to vote and everyone is going to vote Democratic. Young people now tend to register no party affiliation; so there are a lot of unknowns about it, but what is known is that Floridians have said this needs to happen.”

Florida's Legislature often plays the main role in carrying out constitutional amendments, even when direct oversight belongs to a state agency. MacManus said the widespread and bipartisan support for the amendment might preclude the Republican-controlled Legislature from trying to impede its full implementation.

She said Floridians, especially younger voters, are much more open to the idea of rehabilitation than previous generations were, and any Republican attempt to undercut the measure might trigger a backlash. Instead, MacManus said she expects Republicans to organize an effort to woo the large group of potential new voters.

“It's clear based on the election results we just had that both parties will be trying aggressively to register people or at least convince them of their viability because it is a big potential pool of new voters,” she said. “And in a state where half the ticket races are now settled by less than half a percent, you can see how people are salivating over this new group of people.”

MacManus alluded to November's statewide elections, in which the races for senator, governor and commissioner of agriculture were all decided by slim margins.

So far, Florida's Division of Elections has provided little insight into its plans for addressing Amendment 4. The director of the Florida Division of Elections spoke to elections supervisors from the state's 67 counties earlier this month at their annual conference in Sarasota, but Polk County Supervisor Lori Edwards said she was disappointed with what she heard.

Maria Matthews, the state official, said Florida is “putting a pause button” on sending files to counties identifying voters who should be flagged as ineligible to vote, according to news reports. She raised questions about how to determine that a sentence has been completed, noting that sentences can be converted into “civil judgments.”

Edwards, a Democrat, expressed frustration over Matthews' statements.

“We came to the conference looking for direction from the state Division of Elections,” Edwards told The News Service of Florida. “As you know, the secretary of state reminds us that he's the chief elections official. And they didn't help. They didn't give any direction to us. And they wouldn't give us a timeline of when they will.”

Secretary of State Ken Detzner recently told reporters he thinks his office must wait for guidance from the Legislature before taking action to implement Amendment 4.

Doyel said he began talking to others a day or two after the election about making plans to register newly eligible voters. He said his former campaign manager, Trinity Laurino, and others have formed an informal group to pursue the effort.

“We've talked to people in other counties,” Doyel said. “There are people who want to work on this project. They're looking for organizations, and that's what we're hoping to provide them, but we're starting off small-scale in Winter Haven and then expanding within a week to the rest of Polk County.”

Doyel said Twanna “T-Fay” Dewdney will host a voter registration drive for ex-felons Jan. 8 at her Winter Haven business, Salon Ashanti. He noted that some local cities will hold municipal elections in April.

And earlier than that, Lakeland will hold a special election for a seat on its commission Jan. 15.

“We'll have people who are already authorized to register voters,” Doyel said. “The key to that is to get the word out to people and to identify people who have felony convictions so we can let them know we're making it easy on them to get registered.”

Lake said he has assigned the singing ministry of his church with a lead role in finding newly eligible voters and helping to get them registered.

Painful losses

Andreij Rose of Bartow is another local resident who stands to benefit from the passage of Amendment 4.

Rose, 64, was convicted in 2003 of driving with a suspended license and received a sentence of probation. He said he was later stopped by police for a routine check while walking in Bartow. As a result of that check, he was charged with violating parole and sentenced to a year in prison in 2005.

Rose said he later voted in at least one election while living in Bradenton. After moving to Tampa, he tried to vote but an election official told him he was no longer eligible. He said that change in status prevented him from voting in the 2016 election.

“It affected me,” Rose said. “Giving away my freedom and being arrested, that's one thing, but when I found out they took away my right to vote — I was born in 1954, and I came up through segregation and integration and the civil rights movement, and I know what it meant to have the right to vote. When they took that away from me, it meant more than losing my freedom.”

Rose, who has since returned to Bartow, said he was so happy about the passage of Amendment 4 that he stood up in his church on a Sunday shortly after the election to share what the measure meant to him and other non-violent offenders.

“Since they done passed this Amendment 4, I'm just glad I got it,” Rose said. “I'm going to go and sign up and see what they're going to say. Do I need a thing from Tallahassee to say it's OK? I'll just go to the voters' place in Bartow and find out what it's going to take.”

Roger Martin of Auburndale is among a group of ex-felons who had their voting eligibility restored during Charlie Crist's term as governor from 2007 to 2011. Crist, who served as a Republican and later became a Democrat, revised the rules of clemency in 2007, creating automatic approval for non-violent offenders.

His successor, Republican Rick Scott, canceled those revised rules after taking office in 2011. During Scott's two terms, even non-violent felons had to individually petition to gain clemency and have their voting rights renewed.

Though he has been able to vote in recent elections, Martin sees himself in the same class as those whose felony convictions cost them the right to vote.

Martin, 52, served two prison terms for drug-related charges, most recently in 2004. He said all of his legal troubles stemmed from an addiction he developed to crack cocaine, and he has since completed a recovery program through New Life Outreach Ministry of Lakeland.

Losing voice

Martin recalled receiving a letter from the state six months before the 2000 election saying his name had been removed from the voter registration roll. The letter said he could apply for clemency, a process that would take at least nine months.

“Very distraught about that, that my voice wouldn't be heard, I wouldn't be able to vote,” Martin said. “That lasted for quite a few years.”

He said he only learned by chance about the change in state policy during Crist's tenure. A woman approached him on a city bus and asked if he was registered to vote. When he told her he wasn't eligible because of his record, she informed him that he might be eligible.

Martin said he got in touch with Larry Mitchell, director of New Life Outreach Ministry, after hearing that Amendment 4 had passed. He said he wanted to know what he could do to help other ex-felons get back on voting rolls.

Mitchell said the Lakeland branch of the NAACP plans to work toward helping newly eligible residents register to vote. Branch President Reginald Ardis did not respond to a message from The Ledger.

Martin said politicians have previously been able to ignore the concerns of ex-felons because they couldn't vote. He said he hopes the new voting power will lead to changes in state policy that address the hardships people face after prison in trying to find jobs, especially those that pay more than minimum wage.

“If you look at the numbers in the last election, and let's just say half the ex-felons were able to vote, that possibly would have been enough to sway every election we had,” Martin said. “So I'm really excited about that. … Yes, it's just the right to vote, but because now we can have representation, maybe people can get decent-paying jobs they can take care of families with.”

Like Martin, Abodunrin said her criminal history is all the result of a drug addiction from which she is now in recovery. She, too, has been through programs at New Life Outreach Ministry.

“I'm glad we can automatically get our rights back,” she said. “Restoration and rehabilitation starts within ourselves. We have felons who want to rehabilitate. We have felons who want to correct ourselves, and I'm one of those. All felons shouldn't be looked at the same.”

Abodunrin echoed Martin's hope that the block of newly eligible voters will force politicians to adopt measures that make it easier for people to find good jobs despite felony records, reducing the risk that they will return to crime. She described the difficulties she has faced in being hired even for low-paying work.

Abodunrin said she has the necessary certifications to qualify for jobs with local nonprofits but can't get hired because of her record. She said she is on the verge of being evicted.

“The voting that's been restored is great, but what I'm pushing today is us taking the next step when jobs come in,” she said. “When I'm qualified to do this job, and I never molested a kid and I can't even work with kids. I can be that beacon of light for those kids. The wrong choices I made, I can stand and show them, 'You can recover from this.' "

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

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